I’m always searching for a book that not only pulls me in, but whose well-drawn characters linger after the book is closed, hovering like ghostly spirits. Here are a few recent reads whose characters impacted me. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Kiran Desai Desai took almost 20 years to write this sweeping story which moves back and forth [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by TOM SANTULLI Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s 1954 novel, was required reading for many of us growing into adolescence. It’s the story of a group of young boys, educated and known to one another, on a plane that crashes, landing them stranded on a desert island. They make desperate attempts to maintain civilization and [...]
Pat Taub
The 1975 Sci-fi cinematic thriller,” The Stepford Wives,” bears an eerie resemblance to the women in Trump’s cabinet. The film depicts the upscale suburban community of Stepford, Connecticut where the women are carbon copies of one another. On every sighting, even at the grocery store, they are fashionably attired and perfectly made-up. [...]
Pat Taub
“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.” —George Saunders, acclaimed novelist, in his 2013 Syracuse University commencement address. In a New York Times interview, referring to his commencement address, Saunders confessed that, looking back on his life, he wished he had been kinder. His Buddhist teachings frame [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by TOM SANTULLI “We make meaning most readily in times of confusion and despair when life as we know it has ceased to make sense.” ~ Oliver Sacks Watching the chaos and suffering unleashed in this country and abroad by Trump – maniacal narcissistic amoral bullying – and his toadies, despair is my first reaction… fear, [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN I am 73. My white hair, tentative gait, and blue cane say so to others even when I don’t. No one snarls, “Hey, Gramps! Move it!” but even well-meant acts can be ungentle reminders. On New Year’s Eve morning I visited my local supermarket, paid for my groceries, and began to lift a heavy [...]
Pat Taub
For two hours on January 1st, watching the inauguration of New York’s new governor, Zoran Mamdani, I felt hopeful for the first in a long time. I was inspired by the populist speech of the new Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams. Moved by Mandy Patinkin singing “Over the Rainbow,” accompanied by fifth graders from Staten Island’s PS [...]
Pat Taub
Ageism is discrimination against elders because of their age, targeting women more than men. Ageism is a ubiquitous force in a woman’s life, first surfacing in childhood when little girls listen to fairy tales about a mean old witch, personified in Snow White and Hansel and Gretel, setting the stage for a lifetime of disparaging older [...]
Pat Taub
2025 was a dark year. Disturbing news became routine: ICE terrifying migrant communities; the gutting of critical federal departments, like Education and the Climate Research Center; mean-spirited cuts to food stamps, heating allowances, and Head Start; rolled back protections for gay, lesbian and trans individuals. Casualties from Israel’s [...]
Pat Taub
This past weekend I drove to the mall for holiday gifts. Entering TJ Maxx, I was flabbergasted by the towers of holiday merchandise, which spilled over into the narrow aisles, making for tricky navigation. Overwhelmed by this crass commercialism, I made a few purchases and raced to my car. Back at home, over a cup of tea, I revisited past [...]
Pat Taub